


Vol. V - Marry Me

by RishiDiams



Series: Love Songs [5]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-04-19 22:18:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4763108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RishiDiams/pseuds/RishiDiams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finally reunited from across the void, the Doctor and Rose formalize their union.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> One of the major reasons I stalled out on Love Songs years ago is because of the background relationship I'd always planned between James and Donna. I'm a proper TenToo/Rose shipper - if Rose is fully human. However, in this universe she's not. And, to be fair, neither is my James. If the relationship bothers you, know that it is discussed briefly in chapter 3 and will occur completely in the background after that for the remainder of the series. The focus of Love Songs is and has always been Ten's relationship with Rose.

Forever can never be long enough for me  
To feel like I've had long enough with you  
Now that the weight has lifted  
Love has surely shifted my way  
  
Now that the wait is over  
And love has finally shown her my way  
Marry me  
Today and every day  
\- "Marry Me," Train

 

Rose reached out and smacked the Doctor hard across the shoulder.

"What was that for?"

 _*Mum?*_ Cassandra's worried voice touched her mind.

After making sure her parents, James (who'd looked over his identical copy of the Doctor's bedroom with a critical eye), and Donna (who'd squealed at the expansion to her own room) were settled in, they'd made their way to their own room. It was the first time they'd managed to be alone - or, rather, as alone as they could be with their daughter listening in on their conversations - since Rose had returned from the parallel universe.

"You knew I was pregnant and you let me suffer for weeks about how to tell you."

"You might not be able to count the days of your own cycle, but I can. Besides, isn't the suitably domestic thing to let the mother announce the pregnancy? Even though I told you it was a guarantee." His voice slipped lower, "And it's not as though it was just the one time, either."

He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively and Rose's annoyance shifted into fond exasperation. _*It's okay, sweetheart,*_ she replied to Cassandra.

The Doctor moved forward immediately, suddenly serious. "What's wrong?"

"She's worried about you. Worried that I'm upset with you. Can't you feel her?"

"Not without your permission, Rose. Every time I've spoken to her I've been touching you. A developing telepathic mind is susceptible to attack and the maternal bond is very protective."

"But you're her father, you're not going to hurt her."

"Well, you and I know that, but the bond doesn't."

"Oh."

"Rose, you could give me permission, if you wanted. Kind of like unlimited access through the maternal bond. You could do it for any one of us: me, Donna..." He hesitated. "James. But it's entirely up to you."

She took his hand immediately and brought it up to her stomach. "Do it."

He leaned forward and kissed her. "I love you, Rose Tyler."

"I love you, too, Doctor."

With one hand resting on Rose's stomach, he brought his other hand to her temple. "Think about your trust in me, Rose."

A second passed and then suddenly Rose could hear Cassandra chatting away with her father even after his hands fell away from her, both of their inner voices moving at identical mind-boggling speeds.

"On second thought, maybe I should have said no. Two months of this? The two of you are going to drive me mental."

The Doctor chuckled. "Dampen it, Rose. The same way you'd mute the bond, just don't close it completely."

Rose focused inward and looked at a representation of the connection the Doctor had just made. She imagined wrapping it in a heavy wool blanket and breathed a sigh of relief when it worked and their voices were dulled.

Looking at the Doctor again, she noted the sudden hesitancy in his eyes, the way he tugged nervously at his ear. "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

"No! No. Nothing's wrong. Whatever you did worked fine, didn't bother my connection to her at all. It's just that Cassandra mentioned rather unsubtly --" Rose felt Cassandra's sheepish reaction to her father's words, "-- that she intends to be a Smith when she's born and, well, that can't happen unless you and I are married. Properly married, because apparently you now know how the tattoo fits into all of this."

Rose glared at him, but it was playful. "And this is you, asking me proper-like? I should smack you again. I mean, honestly, how difficult would it have been to say: 'I'd love to have sex with you, Rose Tyler, but you might want to know that if we do this we'll be considered married on 40,000 planets across the universe'?" 

"All I've got are excuses, Rose, and none of them very good. I can say that I had every intention of marrying you when we landed at your mum's the day you brought her the Bazoolium. I'd already decided to stay there for the duration of your pregnancy, but you know how that turned out."

"You tried to send me away," Rose accused quietly, her hand covering her stomach protectively. "You tried to send both of us away."

His hands landed heavily on her shoulders and he pulled her close to him. "I'm an idiot and a coward, Rose, I've never professed to being otherwise. I knew how much you would need your mum to help you through the pregnancy. I didn't want you to resent me for keeping you from her. It was a terrible idea, I'll admit it, but I wasn't thinking clearly." His voice caught. "I love you and I wanted you to be safe. Honestly, I think if Pete wouldn't have caught you, I'd have jumped into the void after you."

Rose gasped. "Don't say such things."

"I was... not in a good place before I met you. You became my whole world, Cassandra became my future. To lose both of you like that," he shuddered. "At least with you in a parallel world, you were safe with your family. I was able to hope, to try to get you back. People don't come back from the void."

She tightened her arms around him. "We're here now. And we're not going anywhere." She felt him drop a quick kiss on the top of her head. "So, about Cassandra being aware of what's going on around me. Is there any way to turn that off for, say, a couple of hours?"

"Why would you want to --" 

Rose straightened and looked her husband in the eyes.

"Oh. I might be able to do something about that. But first I believe I asked you a question."

"And I'm still standing here, wearing our engagement on my arm and belly swollen with your child. I think it's pretty safe to assume my answer's yes."

He smiled broadly and made a pleased sound in the back of his throat. "Well, then, Rose Tyler-soon-to-be-Smith, let's see what we can do about Cassandra's superior Time Lady senses."

***

The next morning the Doctor braved his way down the corridor that led to Pete and Jackie's room. After Rose had fallen asleep the night before he'd worked out every way this conversation could go and planned to go with the scenario most likely to produce the result he wanted.

A sharp rap on the Tylers' bedroom door set the butterflies in his stomach aloft again.

Pete opened the door. "Doctor! What can I do for you this morning?"

"Hi, Pete. Is Jackie around?"

"I'm coming, you daft alien," she said as she came around the corner. However, after only one look at him, she rushed to the door. "What's wrong? Is it Rose? Is the baby coming?"

"No. No, nothing's wrong. Rose is fine; she and Cassandra are sleeping. I just... sort of havesomethingIneedtoaskyou."

"Doctor, what --" Pete started, but Jackie leaned into his side, a relieved smirk on her face.

"Do tell, Doctor," she drawled.

He cleared his throat. "Peter Alan Tyler, in your position as Head of your House I come to you as Head of mine. I come bearing gifts," He pulled the packet out of the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it over, "in the hopes that they might sway your favor towards a joining of our houses, namely that of your daughter Rose to, well, me." He waited, but Pete and Jackie only continued to look at him expectantly. He nodded at the packet. "It's not much, but I thought under the circumstances that it might be more useful than, say, a bottle of really old wine. And I know this part's usually done before the tattoo and the bonding and, well, certainly the baby, but --"

"It's the deed to a house," Pete breathed, finally having opened the packet.

The Doctor nodded. "In the French Riviera. And a car. And bank accounts. You're quite well-off. Again."

Jackie gasped and craned her neck to look at the paperwork.

"I would have put you back in London, but Pete, you've been dead for 20 years, and Jackie, you've been dead for three, so it would have been hard to explain how you found each other again."

He shifted on his feet as the two of them flipped through the papers for several minutes, exclaiming over the details.

"Doctor, how did you manage all of this?"

"The TARDIS did most of the work, establishing your identities, opening the accounts. I had a little bit of input on the house."

"It's amazing." He took his arm off of Jackie's shoulders and offered his hand. "I don't know how to thank you."

The Doctor eyed it but didn't extend his own. "Well, I'd kind of hoped --"

"You're supposed to say he can marry our daughter, you plum."

Pete looked down at Jackie, his eyes wide, before looking back up. "You know you didn't have to do all of this, right?"

Jackie sighed. "Rose said you lot are big into ceremony. Is there some ritual phrase you need us to say?"

"Just a yes will do for now," he said, wiping his sweating hands along his trouser legs. Him, a Time Lord, sweating! "Like I said, this part usually takes place before the daughter in question is consulted on the matter so the words are merely a formality... Honestly, I'll take an affirmative grunt at this point."

Pete laughed. "Permission granted, Doctor."

"And you, Jackie? I know technically Pete's Head of House, but you're Rose's mum, it would mean a lot to her if you --"

Her eyes filled with water. "Oh, go on. Yes, of course." 


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor had been acting weird - well, weirder than usual - in the week since she'd returned from the parallel world, but dragging her out of their bed in the middle of the night was something he'd not done since before she got pregnant.

"Doctor, I'm not even dressed! Where are we going?"

"The adventure of a lifetime, Rose!"

"Can I at least brush my teeth first?" she asked as he pulled her towards the door. 

He skidded to a halt and looked at her, seeming to see her for the first time, wrinkled jim jams, bed head, and all. He grinned sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"So where are we going?" she asked over her shoulder as she brushed her teeth and her - yikes! - hair, Cassandra humming contentedly the whole time, obviously sharing her father's good mood.

"It's a surprise."

"What, no hint?"

"Nope," he replied, popping the p.

Rose stepped back into the bedroom to see him dancing on the balls of his feet. "Can you tell me what I should wear, at least?"

In answer, he gestured at a plain white gown that was lying on the bed.

"That's it?"

With no other obvious changes, his eyes were suddenly vulnerable. "Is that not okay?"

"It's fine. Lovely."

He preened, picking up the dress while she discarded her pyjamas and then helping her into it. It was simple, with a straight, demure neckline, short sleeves, and a hem that hovered just an inch above the floor.

"How do I look?" When he said nothing, she smoothed her hands down the skirt. "Doctor, is this okay?"

"Beautiful," he said, his voice strained. "You look beautiful."

"Are you sure? You didn't seem --"

He leaned forward and silenced her with a kiss. "I was merely struck dumb by your beauty. It's perfect. You're perfect."

Before she had a chance to comment on his sudden poetic streak, he turned manic again and grabbed her hand. "Come on, we're going to be late!"

Laughing, she followed him out of their room. The hallway lights were dim, but his steps were sure as he moved confidently towards the console room.

"What time is it anyway?"

"By your internal clock it's just a little past eight a.m."

"Then why aren't the lights on? Is something wrong with the TARDIS?"

"No, no. She's fine. It's for atmosphere."

They arrived at the console room, but he kept moving towards the doors.

"Atmosphere for what?"

In answer, he threw open the doors. The TARDIS floated in space before a giant nebula made up of red and people swirls.

Rose took a step closer. "Oh, Doctor, it's beautiful."

He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her, relaxing as he settled his hands on her stomach. "I hoped you'd like it."

"I do, very much." She leaned back against him and let his contentment flow over her.

They stayed that way for a few moments before the Doctor took a deep breath. "I have something to ask you."

She hummed.

"Marry me?"

Rose turned in his arms. He was looking down at her, the glow from the nebula making his eyes sparkle.

"I have only my hearts and my home to offer you, but I give them gladly."

"I already said yes, you didn't have to ask again."

He tugged on his ear. "Well, I was maybe thinking a little bit more immediately."

"How immediately --" she started, but then things began to click: he'd been acting stranger than usual, he'd obviously planned a romantic view, she was wearing a white dress (despite being nearly eight months pregnant). "Right now?"

"If you want," he said, shrugging his shoulder in a fair imitation of his ninth self. He probably thought the motion looked casual, but she'd seen though it then just as she saw through it now.

"Yes, Doctor. I'd love to marry you."

"Yeah?"

"Let's do it."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Sarah Jane appeared with a bright orange robe in her arms. It took seconds for the Doctor to slide it on over his suit.

A giddy giggle escaped Rose. He really did mean immediately. "Wait, what about Mum? She'll never forgive me --"

The Doctor smiled. "It's taken care of, Rose."

James stepped out of the shadows, a length of white silk in his hands. Since his regeneration, he'd begun to favor trousers and dark coloured oxfords, but now he wore the same ceremonial orange robe as the Doctor. He turned them to face each other and took each of their right hands, then, starting at the Doctor's elbow, he wrapped it down the Doctor's arm and up Rose's. As he moved, he spoke in the lyrical tones of High Gallifreyan, but her bond to the Doctor allowed the words to be translated.

"We come here to celebrate the union of the Doctor, Time Lord of the House of Lungbarrow, and Rose Marion of the House of Tyler. The cord chosen is silk, woven on New Earth, representing strength and new beginnings."

When he was done, inches separated their fingers but for once they did not do what had always come naturally, staying separate as the ceremony dictated.

"Will the father of the bride give his consent?"

Out of the shadows came Pete's voice, "I consent and gladly give."

"Will the mother of the bride give her consent?"

Her mum repeated the words and Rose felt her eyes water.

James pulled a second strip of silk out of his pocket. It was bright pink. Mickey Smith stepped forward to take it from him.

"The color of youth left behind," he said as he started wrapping the silk from Rose's side towards the Doctor, "innocence not lost but worldliness gained."

With a smile at Rose he stepped back again.

James fished another silk out of his pocket. This one was same shade as his robes. Donna stepped out of the shadows and took it from him, repeating the process of wrapping it around their arms.

"The color of Gallifrey, lost to us but never forgotten, and of Prydon, the first college. Lungbarrow, the ancient noble House, welcomes its new Lady."

Her voice choked on the last word but she managed a weak smile for them both. Once she had once again backed away, James pulled yet another silk out of his pocket, this one TARDIS blue.

Jack Harkness swaggered forward and slid it teasingly slowly from his fingers. Though he was strictly doing exactly what everyone else had done, it seemed he couldn't help but add that tiny bit of his own flair. "The color of companionship and adventure brought you together. May your lives never be lacking in either." He winked before taking a step back.

James rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of smile about his lips.

"John?"

"Rose Marion Tyler, daughter of Jacqueline Suzette Prentice Tyler and Peter Alan Tyler, I have loved you from the first moment I took your hand in mine. You healed my wounds and allowed me to see the universe and all of its wonders anew through your eyes. I take you as my wife, and though I will never be worthy, I offer myself as your husband. I choose a life bond, to last until the end of my days."

"Rose?"

She stumbled for a moment, unsure of what to say. Obviously the Doctor and everyone else had been coached, but not her. Immediately, the Doctor's mind soothed hers as he prompted her with the words she needed. Rose smiled. "Doctor, Time Lord of the House of Lungbarrow, from the moment we first met, you have shown me the most amazing things. You helped me to grow and learn, and you made me a stronger person. I gladly take you as my husband and offer myself as your wife. I choose a life bond, to last until the end of my days."

There was a brief pause during which no one moved or spoke, and the change was so gradual that Rose didn't see when it began. The colors slowly leached away from the silk cords, climbing up the sleeves of their robes until hers were bathed in orange to match the Doctor's. Then the blue and pink formed thin borders along the hems of both of their robes. As each color stopped moving, the corresponding cord dissolved until there was only the original remaining, its color now a burnished gold.

Martha came forward then, a small pillow in her hands. On it rested two plain silver bands.

James nodded at the Doctor, who took one of the rings and leaned forward to whisper into Rose's ear as he slipped it onto the third finger of her left hand. He had been right, she had no hope of ever pronouncing the words he spoke, but she could feel the impression they left when they burned into her soul.

When James nodded at her, Rose did the same, her fingers lingering on his hand as her cheek brushed against his. She'd only just pulled back and met his eyes again when James spoke. 

"Kiss your bride, John."

The fingers of their hands, once parted, entwined as their lips touched.

Rose remembered the restrained, formal kiss from the Gallifreyan wedding she'd witnessed in the Doctor's memories. This was nothing like that. This kiss spoke of the sweetness of love lost and later found, and eloquently depicted the definition of forever.


	3. Chapter 3

He'd slept. And for the first time ever, he had not woken before her. Rose looked down at her lover, formerly the Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm, who was now her husband. On some level she could feel his dreams and was tempted to ease herself into their contentment. Then, the bubble of them popped.

"I can feel you watching me," he said, eyes still closed and voice as clear as though he'd been faking sleep.

"And good morning to you, too, Husband."

He made a happy noise in the back of his throat. "I remember jelly babies."

"That was fast."

"The block was set to dissolve once you considered us married. I think yesterday's ceremony counted." The muscles underneath his fair skin moved deliciously as he propped himself up on his elbow and started playing with the ends of her hair.

"Doctor?"

"Hmm?"

"Something's been bothering me."

"Oh?" He leaned forward to place a kiss on her bare shoulder.

"When I met you in the past, you accepted me as your bonded mate, even as your wife."

He hummed again as his fingers started to creep lower. Rose placed a hand on his chest to stop him from going any further.

"But you said you'd been married before. Won't that, I dunno, overlap?"

"She's been dead a long time, Rose. And when a Time Lord says 'a long time' they mean it. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Yeah, but you're a time traveler, Doctor, how many women can you be married to before it starts to get confusing?"

"My first wife died before I began traveling, over 700 years ago in my linear timeline, so it's highly unlikely you will ever meet a version of me that you would consider a bigamist. And she and I were never bonded. It was an arranged marriage and a bond was far too intimate a thing to share with someone I didn't even know. Even after we'd been married for years, I never experienced the kind of closeness with her that would have led to either of us suggesting a bond."

His voice dropped. "So, you're my bonded mate, Rose, the only one I've ever had. The only one I ever will have." 

"And you said you'd been a father before."

He nodded. "I traveled with my granddaughter for a few years."

"Was she a Time Lady, too?"

"Susan? No, just my granddaughter."

"Did you have a son or daughter?"

He studied her, "Why do you want to know?"

"I didn't have a dad, not really. I mean, Pete's great, but he wasn't there when I was little. I guess I want to know what kind of things Gallifreyan dads do."

"Gallifreyan children weren't raised by their parents. We gave our children to others to raise communally. This will be a brand new experience for me, too."

"Oh."

"Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course. We'll be first-time parents together."

"I like the sound of that." His fingers began moving again as he snuggled closer to her. "There is one problem, however."

"Oh?"

"We've been married less than 24 hours and we're in our marriage bed, Rose Marion Tyler Smith, and you're asking me about my ex."

"Oh."

It was early afternoon before they stirred again.

"They're going to wonder what happened to us."

"We're newlyweds, Rose. They're not going to wonder at all."

Rose blushed fiercely, but finished getting dressed and followed the Doctor out of their room.

***

Cassandra was due to arrive any day. He had moved the TARDIS into the Torchwood hub two weeks earlier, a move that had surprised everyone considering his feelings about the organization as a whole. Jack had spoken truthfully, though, his team was different than the rest had been, and the new organization he was building alongside Pete, Mickey, and Martha had gone a long way towards making amends.

“Budge up, Spaceman.”

The Doctor looked up to see Donna looking at him expectantly. He scooted along the jumpseat to make room for her and she sat down beside him.

“How are you holding up?”

“Oh, fine. Fine. Never better, you?”

“Well,” she smirked, “you’re still a liar, but at least you’re not ‘all right’ this time. Come on, you can talk to me, remember?”

For once, the Doctor was quiet.

“You forget I know you, I know what you’re thinking – or close enough to it. So, what’s bothering you?”

“Rose... you remember what it was like on Gallifrey. Children weren’t... I don’t want...”

“You won’t. God, you can be so thick sometimes. You’ll be great. This isn’t Gallifrey, which means you have loads of people who love you and Rose to bits, who are willing to help at a moment’s notice. Yeah, there will be times you’ll stumble, but you learn from it, pick yourself up, and try again. Cassandra will be the most loved baby in the universe. That includes by you.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right, Dumbo.”

“Thanks, Donna.”

She bumped his shoulder with her own but said nothing. It wasn’t until they’d sat in silence for a few minutes that he realized something was bothering her, too.

“It’s James,” she said before he could even ask. “Since the regeneration, he’s... different.”

“Good different or –- ”

“Good different,” she agreed. “Very good. But he’s afraid you won’t approve.”

“Approve? Of wh—-” She glared at him and his stomach turned over. If he lived to be 50,000 years old, he would never ever be able to sort through the enormity of the emotions caused by that look. “Ah. Donna, you’re both consenting adults, I don’t see why you’d think you need my approval.”

“So, the fact that you’re Head of the House means nothing?”

“Lungbarrow is long –-”

“Lungbarrow is alive and well, and, frankly, better than ever. And you know that. The question is, how strict are you going to be about the old rules?”

“Any genetics the two of you had in common should have gotten burned up in his regeneration. I certainly haven’t seen anything that would make me think – well, except for the hair.” He pouted briefly. James’ ginger highlights were one thing, but the close-cropped beard he occasionally ‘tried out’ for days at a time had grown in even redder. “I could run some tests.”

“He already did.”

The Doctor inhaled sharply, an ache growing in the pit of his stomach. He’d known intellectually that he would have to share the TARDIS with Donna and James, at least until the latter’s own TARDIS was complete, but the reality of it felt like betrayal. He’d expected to be asked, consulted, when some of his equipment needed to be used, not that entire experiments would go on behind his back.

“And?” he asked, his voice sharper than usual, but if Donna noticed, she didn’t comment.

“We’re clear. There’s less than a three per cent coefficient of relationship. The two of you are probably closer.”

“I’d guess around 25 per cent.”

“That was his guess as well, but we couldn’t know for sure without a more recent sample.”

“So, you’ve got your answer, why do you even need to ask me at all?”

“I told you he was thick,” James said as he pushed off of the doorway. The Doctor wondered how long he’d been standing there, how much he’d heard. He looked as annoyed as the Doctor felt as he stalked closer, a bottle of wine in his hand that he shoved at the Doctor when he got closer. “Here. The best bottle Cardiff has to offer.”

Donna laid her hand on James’ arm in a way that spoke of a familiarity he’d never seen between them before. Without moving her hand, she turned to face the Doctor. “As Head of House, we’d like to ask your permission to court.”

“Wilf?”

“Gave his blessing. Gladly. He’s thrilled,” James said.

A bolt of pain lashed at him over the bond, leaving him gasping. “Rose.”

“She’s Lady, but I don’t know why she’d need to...” Donna’s words trailed off when the TARDIS’ lights flickered. “It’s time?”

But the Doctor had already bounded off of the jumpseat, shoving the bottle back at James when he passed him. Rose was inching along the corridor towards the infirmary when he skidded to a stop beside her.

“What are you doing?! Let me help.”

“I’m all right. Walking helps. I’ve made the trip half a dozen times, now.”

“What are you talking about?" His eyes widened as another bolt of pain jolted him at the same time Rose squatted and bent at the waist. “That was really close together.”

“Less than five minutes apart.”

“Less than – how long have you been doing this?”

“Walking? An hour, I’d guess.”

“An hour! But you’d have had to..." He took a deep breath to keep his emotions under control. "You were supposed to call me, not block yourself from me.”

“I didn’t want to worry you. You’ve been stressed enough.”

He pressed his lips together. “Let’s get you to the infirmary. There’s no reason for you to suffer like this. We can talk about you trying to protect me later.”

Cassandra made her appearance four hours later. She had her mother’s smile and her father’s hair and eyes.


End file.
